Quitting

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Ending participation in an activity or habit ; departing from a job or role
2. Ceasing involvement in a regular action or practice ; resigning from employment or office
3. Discontinuing a behavior or task that one has been doing ; withdrawing from a professional or official position

Etymology: The surprising thread here is that "quit" once meant to set someone free from a debt, and the modern sense of leaving a job or habit grew out of that idea of being released or settled. The root is Latin "quietus," meaning at rest or free, the same source that gave English "quiet," "quite," and "coy" as separate descendants. Through Old French "quitter" and Middle English "quiten," the word came to mean to release someone from an obligation, then to pay off a debt, and eventually to be free of a duty or situation altogether. "Quitting" is simply the present participle of "quit," so it carries the same sense: stepping away from a task, habit, or position. Its ancestors are shared across Germanic languages too, with Dutch "kwijten," Swedish "kvitta," and Icelandic "kvitta" all carrying related meanings of settling or departing. Its exact sound-imitative origin remains uncertain.

Synonyms: leaving, departing, resigning, abandoning, surrendering

Antonyms: staying, continuing, persisting, enduring, persevering